Tag Archives: Pets & Money

I don’t remember the expert, John Maxwell, maybe? Anyways, the young professional is sitting with the wise older man whom he admired when the older man asks the younger one, “Do you have a learning plan?”

Uncertain how you feel about point-blank questions but as I remember it, not only did the younger man have to say no – he admitted he didn’t know that something like that existed.

They do, and do you want one?

If you Google, learning plans, you’ll get a LOT of results. Don’t you love having research like this at your fingertips? However, they may not help you as much as first asking yourself some questions. I know – more questions! No, I don’t stop!

First: What is it you want to learn?

This is probably the most important question you can ask yourself because it assumes that you can learn and that you know what you are lacking. Unfortunately, many people do not know what they don’t know and don’t seem to keen on finding out.

This can give you a huge advantage!

If you want to become better at something you can then determine a plan to get you there.

Take, for instance, the upcoming year-long immersion, The Ultimate Leadership Adventure. This is a learning plan on steroids that come in chucks easy to digest and put into practice immediately so they become part of you.

The goal? To take your leadership to a higher level. (Because this adventure is for leaders already doing well).

Inside this immersion are live, hands-on experiences, short video lessons, masterminding, group coaching and individual sessions all inside a plan to get you to what you want which we will determine during the first retreat.

If you aren’t in a leadership role or don’t want to move to the next level there are many plans you can develop to expand the skills you most want to polish.

Here are three ideas that will help with that.

Reading and then move through every book on a reading by a topic list. If you read one book a month (or week) on any topic you would have it mastered sooner than you know.

Find an expert and invest in their wisdom and help. When you are around someone who knows more than you on the topic of choice, sometimes beside what they teach you, you get other cool things simply by being around them.

Join a group – When you gather with others that are open to learning you gain from all the points of view in the group. You will need to filter so you gain the knowledge you’re after but what a way to tap into a collective.

The New Year is fast approaching – so why not find a Learning Plan that you know you’ll love and use. To tap into the amazing collective of the Ultimate Leadership Adventure, click here.

Today is Halloween and if you’ve been capitalizing on this season you are dressed up today. If so, good for you – and does your team know your vision?

That may seem an odd question on a costume day but it really isn’t. A day like Halloween allows us to step back and ask some basic questions…

To keep it super simple – what is the purpose of your dressing up? To play, engage, create team spirit? Did you share that? Did you use this opportunity to spread your message out?

If so, bravo! From my work with leaders, it usually seems they move forward and people follow them but without a really clear idea of the end goal. And it’s only when the question is asked, “Does your team know the end goal?” That they begin to question if they have even shared it.

Because we are so into our own heads, our own ideas and visions, many times as we shift, and morph and tweak our direction without sharing those tweaks, morphs and new directions with those on our teams.

I think it’s usually because our minds work so fast, things change quickly and new opportunities arise. And still, sharing the vision with your team, with its tweaks and shifts is vital, just like sharing the why behind a costume or a sale, or an initiative.

Let this Halloween day be the day you decide to share not only some treats – but your vision as well!

Vision work and planning time are imperative to attaining your goals and your team goals. We’ll be spending time on these during the Ultimate Leadership Adventure starting in January. Click here for more information

This quote is something I’ve been saying a long time, “The Challenge with Communication is the Illusion that it’s been achieved.”

I lifted and altered it after reading this quote from George Bernard Shaw, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

Regardless which one resonates with you notice the word “Illusion.”

The definition of an illusion is: a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses

And there it is: Wrongly Perceived – and that’s it with communication. We think we do a good job (I guess I can only speak for myself and my clients) and yet, many times our words don’t land as intended.

Things we asked for are lost in translation.

Someone actually says to us, “You never told me…”

Praise or more likely correction is taken out of context and wrong.

So – if it’s An Illusion that communication is really achieved – how do we do this better?

Here are a few things to help you:

Ask those you are speaking with to repeat your request or give feedback to what you said.

Give the listener a chance to ask questions to get an agreement on what needs to be done.

Preface your praise or correction with why you’re saying what you are – two phrases you might like:

“You may not know this…”OR “You might love hearing… “(Give Praise)

For correction, start with this, “In hopes of helping you…” OR “Going forward…

One thing that helps a lot is to role play and practice with others in a safe environment. We’ll be doing this kind of work during the 4 retreats as part of the Ultimate Leadership Adventure. Plus many other communication tools that provide wonderful results. Click here to find out more about that.

Top Women in the Pet Industry Magazine

Our Facebook Page

Call for Nominations for 2018 Woman of the Year

The Pet Industry Woman of the Year is in for AMAZING things! Some of them are:

A full year of media and executive coaching with WIPIN President Shawna Schuh, a Certified Speaking Professional and Executive Coach;

Exposure in pet industry media outlets throughout the year;

A feature on the cover of the WIPIN Top Women in the Pet Industry Winter Magazine;

Appearances and recognition at pet industry events;

Gifts and treats provided by other top women in the pet industry.

Nominations will be accepted now, 2018 and the entry fee is $59 for WIPIN members and $99 for non-members. (please note – this nominal fee is to support doing a not-to-be missed awards show when winners are announced live)

There are five (5) Categories in the Pet Industry Woman of the Year – please nominate yourself in one of these categories only – there will be a winner in each of the categories and then out of these five an overall Pet Industry Woman of the Year will be announced.

Any Pet Industry Woman of the Year is: Inspirational, exhibits leadership skills, has drive, knows about giving and connecting and is creating a wonderful reputation for herself.

Advocate Category – This woman is a giver at heart and is an advocate for pets – She has or does something to benefit animals and the humans that love them.

Entrepreneur Category – One business or many – this woman is the big thinker and has a team or employees to help make her vision happen and grow.

Rising Star Category – This woman is new to the pet space or is in a new role. Rapid growth and high performance are key to why she is a rising star.

Solopreneur Category – Doing it all and doing it with grace describes this woman. She is a solo shop – though of course is smart about hiring her CPA and other businesses services. The rest of the time she does her business on her own.

You are a woman in the pet industry, you are doing great things – YOU are the most qualified to tell your story – Step up and do this now – Just answering the questions will help you on your journey and isn’t getting better your goal? Nominate yourself now!